#MeToo movement: Chetan Bhagat says he’s not a harasser

Days after a public apology in response to an unnamed woman accusing him of sexual harassment on social media, author Chetan Bhagat has responded to a second allegation – by a journalist – with a long post asserting: “I am not a harasser, never was, never will be”. Alleging that the #MeToo movement unfolding in India is being ‘corrupted’, he said: “I would like to officially put a stop to this nonsense targeting me.”

Chetan Bhagat was named over the weekend on a Twitter thread on which women started sharing #MeToo stories – nearly a year after the hashtag sprouted from allegations of sexual assault and harassment against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. A woman shared screenshots of a WhatsApp chat with Chetan Bhagat, in which the author had written that he was trying to ‘woo’ her. In a Facebook message, the best-selling author had admitted to having the conversation and had apologised to the woman as well as his wife Anusha Bhagat.

A journalist then posted screenshots of a WhatsApp conversation in which the author asked if she was a ‘very sexual’ person and “what’s the wildest sexual thing you’ve done?” Chetan Bhagat put out another Facebook post today addressed to his fans and readers, saying that “in the garb of the #MeToo movement, which definitely has genuine cases, I am being attacked and vilified.”